The present invention relates to a container for the thermostatic preservation of liquids, particularly but not exclusively useful in leisure, sport and with infants.
It is known that there are many types of vessels which allow to store liquids in general at a constant temperature for a certain period of time. In particular, so-called thermos flasks are very popular among people who practice sports, especially in the mountains. It is well-known that these flasks are double-walled glass or metal vessels with an empty air space, in which a beverage such as water, coffee, white coffee, juice et cetera is placed in order to keep it hot or cold for a rather long time. However, most currently commercially available beverages are contained in their own package, which can be an ordinary bottle or a can for beer or soft drinks in general, or a box-like plastic-coated paper package for juices, dairy products such as milk, yoghurt and so forth. Clearly, in order to place these beverages in thermos flasks it is necessary to transfer the content of the package to the thermos flask. In order to obviate this need, vessels shaped like a cylindrical cup of various sizes, made of Insulating material, are commercially available, and a can or bottle can be inserted directly therein. Another aspect of the prior art related to this field consists, for example, in preparing warm food to be given to children or in the preservation and transport of certain types of drugs, which often have to be kept at temperatures below 0xc2x0 C. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,908 discloses an insulated baby bottle carrier.
A first drawback of the abovedescribed first type of conventional vessels is that the packages, and correspondingly the beverage contained therein, are only partially protected against heat exchange with the environment, since the end portion of the packages, on which the opening is arranged, is unprotected. In this case, it is evident that the duration of the thermostatic preservation of the beverage is considerably shorter than the duration obtainable with thermos flasks.
A second drawback of these containers is that they do not protect the region that surrounds the opening against dirt and insects, especially after the package has been opened.
A third drawback is that the purchaser of these containers is forced to carry them by hand or in a bag, because they have no grip members suitable for carrying them comfortably.
A first drawback related to the other aspects of the prior art is that, warm foods such as milk are often poured into glass containers, for example bottles for baby feeding, which have no thermal insulation of any kind. Accordingly, such foods must be given immediately and it is not possible to transport them so as to keep their temperature unchanged. The same drawback arises in the case of drugs when they are given by the pharmacist to the customer. Clearly, along the route from the drugstore to the buyer""s home, the medicines are unlikely to be kept at the same temperature conditions in which they were delivered.
The aim of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks noted above in conventional insulating containers for packages of beverages, by providing a container for the thermostatic preservation of liquids which allows complete insulation of the vessel and, of course, of the beverage contained therein, with respect to the outside environment, simultaneously with an effective protection of the vessel against any contaminants such as dirt, insects and so forth.
An object of the invention is to provide a container which can extend the thermostatic condition of the liquids contained therein for a duration which is comparable to that of thermos flasks.
Another object of the invention is to provide a container which can be adapted to the different shapes and dimensions of the several commercially available packages of beverages, foods, medicines, et cetera.
Another object of the invention is to provide a container which is non-toxic, easy and handy to carry, completely washable and can be recycled rather easily to a significant extent.
This aim, these objects and others which will become apparent hereinafter are achieved by a container for the thermostatic preservation of liquids, characterized in that it comprises a shell, formed by at least two coupled portions, which forms at least one cavity for accommodating at least one vessel which contains the liquids.